The Scrap Value of a Hacked PC

Source: Security Fix

Brian Krebs of Security fix has published a brief but useful article outlining the purposes for which attackers can use a compromised PC.

PDF most common file type in targeted attacks

Source: F-Secure Weblog

F-Secure has measured a significant shift in file types used in targeted malware attacks between 2008 and 2009. Of the four file types PowerPoint, Excel, Word, and PDF, 2008 saw a fairly even spread of targeted malware, ranging from 17% (PowerPoint) to 35% (Word). So far in 2009, PDF is way out in front (49%), along with Word (39%), while PowerPoint and Excel also ran (12% combined).

Hackers Break Into Virginia Health Professions Database, Demand Ransom

Source: Security Fix

"Hackers last week broke into a Virginia state Web site used by pharmacists to track prescription drug abuse. They deleted records on more than 8 million patients and replaced the site's homepage with a ransom note demanding $10 million for the return of the records..."

Taking over the Torpig botnet

Source: The Computer Security Group at UCSB

"At the beginning of 2009, we took control of the Torpig botnet for ten days. Over this period, we observed more than 180 thousand infections and recorded more than 70 GB of data that the bots collected."

A report has been published: Your Botnet is My Botnet: Analysis of a Botnet Takeover (PDF), UCSB Technical Report, Santa Barbara, CA, April 2009.